I trained as a sociologist and have published on several subjects. Much of the work grew from my dissertation on atheist identity and atypical social movements. Other papers deal with scientific authority, police body cameras, and generative AI. I am now co-writing a paper on how universities have responded to generative AI.
Research
Eacersall, D., Pretorius, L., Smirnov, I., Spray, E., Illingworth, S., Chugh, R., Strydom, S., Stratton-Maher, D., Simmons, J., et al. (2025). "Navigating ethical challenges in generative AI-enhanced research: The ETHICAL framework for responsible generative AI use." Journal of Applied Learning & Teaching, 8(2). DOI · PDF
Simmons, J. (2024). "Indigenous atheists in Canada: Challenging assumptions and navigating belonging." Secular Studies, 6(1), 62-83. DOI · PDF
Simmons, J. (2024). "The politics of nonreligion." In J. M. Smith and R. T. Cragun (Eds.), Secularity and nonreligion in North America: An introduction, 152-170. Bloomsbury Academic. Book
Sandhu, A., and Simmons, J. (2023). "Police officers as filmmakers: The cinematography of body worn cameras." Policing and Society, 33(5), 593-603. DOI · PDF
Simmons, J., and Sandhu, A. (2020). "Between Islam and Islamophobia: Stigma management among Canadian atheist activists." Secular Studies, 2(2), 117-137. DOI · PDF
Simmons, J. (2020). "Feminist women's attitudes towards feminist men in the Canadian atheist movement." Religion and Gender, 10(2), 182-201. DOI · PDF
Simmons, J. (2019). "Politics, individualism, and atheism: An examination of the political attitudes of atheist activists in a Canadian city." Secularism and Nonreligion, 8(2), 1-9. DOI · PDF
Simmons, J. (2018). "'Not that kind of atheist': Scepticism as a lifestyle movement." Social Movement Studies, 17(4), 437-450. DOI · PDF
Simmons, J. (2017). "Atheism plus what? Social justice and lifestyle politics among Edmonton atheists." Canadian Journal of Sociology, 42(4), 425-446. DOI · PDF
Simmons, J., and Kent, S. A. (2015). "An expansion of the rational choice approach: Social control in the Children of God during the 1970s and 1980s." International Journal for the Study of New Religions, 6(1), 27-49.
Simmons, J. (2013). "Positive psychology as a scientific movement." International Journal of Science in Society, 4(1), 43-52. DOI · PDF
Graduate research
Simmons, J. (2018). Atheist identity and lifestyle among activists in Edmonton. PhD dissertation, University of Alberta. PDF
Simmons, J. (2012). Positive psychology as a scientific movement: A case study in scientific legitimacy. MA thesis, University of New Brunswick. University repository · PDF
For a more exhaustive bibliographic record, see ORCID or Google Scholar.
Essays and fiction
- The Last People, Again, Free Inquiry, vol. 46, no. 4, June/July 2026.
- The Prophet and the Pathologist: Stephen Kent, Massimo Introvigne, and the Battle for an Honest Study of Religion, Free Inquiry, vol. 46, no. 3, April/May 2026.
- The Humanist Response to Authoritarianism, Free Inquiry, vol. 45, no. 5, August/September 2025.
- Beyond Smudge and Creator: Recognizing Indigenous Nonbelievers in Canada, NSRN Blog, 16 June 2025.
- Sacred or Secular? Rethinking Indigenous Spirituality, Free Inquiry, vol. 45, no. 3, April/May 2025.
- Epistemic Laundering: How Universities Sell Pseudoscience, Skeptical Inquirer.
- Les Guérisseurs, short story, On Spec, no. 133.